Meet the 8-Year-Old Trash Expert: How Fenton is Cleaning Up the Neighborhood (Eco-Minded Kids!)

In this special bonus episode featuring Eco-Minded Kids, I sit down with Fenton: an 8-year-old waste management enthusiast who’s already making a big impact in our community! Known as the “neighborhood trash guy,” Fenton shares his passion for recycling, reducing waste, and even educating neighbors on better trash services. 

From collecting cans to crushing them for recycling, Fenton is on a mission to clean up the neighborhood and inspire others to be more eco-conscious. Tune in to hear how this young eco-warrior is making a difference and what we can all learn from him, including: 

• how he’s investing in his own waste management business
• why waste management matters
• and important things you need to know about your trash & recycling!

➡️ Do you know an eco-minded kid who would love to share their story and inspire others on the podcast??  ✨ Click this link to fill out your submission and I'll get back to you!  ✨

Transcript

Katie Kurpanek: 0:00

Welcome to this show, Fenton! Okay, we are officially kicking off eco minded kids, which is a little series that I'm excited to do, because I think there's a lot of kids out there that are like you, and they're doing amazing things to take care of the earth and the community around them, and I want to share their stories, so I'm excited you get to be the first one.

Fenton: 0:24

That's exciting!

Katie Kurpanek: 0:26

Thanks for being on here. Okay, so where we live, you are kind of known as, like, the neighborhood trash guy, right? So can you kind of tell us, like, how did you get that nickname?

Fenton: 0:39

Um, I've lived in Washington, DC, and I saw the trucks, and I really liked them, and then I moved here. And then now, since I'm older, I take out people's trash and all that, and follow the garbage man around our neighborhood.

Katie Kurpanek: 0:59

That's so cool. And the garbage man lets you actually, like, help load the trash onto their haulers, right?

Fenton: 1:06

Yeah, um, I get to run the controls on the back of the truck and crush it.

Katie Kurpanek: 1:13

That's awesome. So okay, how did you originally get started with this? You said you lived in Washington, and then you moved here. But how did you like-- did you just go up to the trash man one day and ask him if you could help or, like, how did you start that?

Fenton: 1:29

I started liking garbage trucks when I was about two years old. I don't exactly know how I got interested in trash.

Katie Kurpanek: 1:41

That's okay!

Fenton: 1:42

I think I just saw the garbage trucks and liked them.

Katie Kurpanek: 1:45

That's amazing. So it's been, like your whole life. Because how old are you now?

Fenton: 1:49

Eight, about nine in a month.

Katie Kurpanek: 1:53

Oh my gosh, that's so, so cool. So okay, what do you do with all of the cans that you collect? Because, like, I know what you do, but people listening might not know, like you kind of walk around the entire neighborhood, not just our street, and you collect cans, but what do you do with them?

Fenton: 2:11

I take them, I crush them. I have a little spot my backyard behind our shed, where I crush them, bag them, and then when I get about seven bags of crushed cans, I haul them to a metal recycler, a place that buys metal, cans and steel and copper.

Katie Kurpanek: 2:34

And then you get paid for that, right?

Fenton: 2:36

Yes,

Katie Kurpanek: 2:37

That is so cool. What are you going to do with all that money?

Fenton: 2:40

I just save it!

Katie Kurpanek: 2:42

That's so smart of you.

Fenton: 2:44

All I really spend it on is to invest in that business.

Katie Kurpanek: 2:48

So how do you invest in it?

Fenton: 2:51

I buy I buy new garbage cans to keep it tidy. My I bought the can crusher. I buy bags.

Katie Kurpanek: 3:02

that's awesome. So the can crusher, for anybody who doesn't know, so you have a shed in your backyard, and the can crusher is probably, like, you know, this big, like, the size of a typical can. And it's so simple. You just, like, screw that into the shed, and it has a handle, and you just put a can on there, and you crush it down flat, right? Yeah, yeah. And so then you fill up bags and whole trash cans worth of those flat cans, right?

Fenton: 3:30

Each bag is worth 40 gallons,

Katie Kurpanek: 3:33

40 gallons?!

Fenton: 3:34

Yeah, they're big bags.

Katie Kurpanek: 3:36

Oh my goodness,

Fenton: 3:37

yeah!

Katie Kurpanek: 3:37

Is that kind of crazy to you? That like we go through that many cans all the time, like you're constantly collecting that many cans from the neighbors, right?

Fenton: 3:47

I have about 10 people that give me cans. Yeah, we make a lot of cans. Some make more than others.

Katie Kurpanek: 3:54

Okay, I've heard from a couple of the other neighbors that sometimes you even educate them about their waste hauler, like their waste management person, and you think that they would do better to switch to somebody else. Can you talk a little bit about that?

Fenton: 4:10

So for example, one one person a few houses down on the street, they have Republic Services, another waste hauler, and I've tried talking them into getting Waste Management, because Waste Management pays their employees better. They're nicer, it's cheaper, so it's there's a lot of reasons for that, and it's helping everyone. It's helping risk management. It makes me happy. Um, it makes, we're saving them money.

Katie Kurpanek: 4:57

that's awesome, Fenton. I love. Love your heart. I love that you care that much about, even like the people working in waste management, and not just yourself or this neighborhood, like you really care about everybody. So how did you start researching that? Like, did your parents support you? Or did you just start researching it on your own?

Fenton: 5:19

I've been researching it on my own, the trashmen are nicer, and they also get paid more at Waste Management. I've seen a few Republic drivers and Waste Management drivers and Waste Management drivers are way nicer, by far.

Katie Kurpanek: 5:41

Interesting. Okay, that's cool that like you're taking your personal experience and then sharing that with other people, just in case that would persuade them. I think that's really cool. Um, so how are your parents supporting you with all of this? Because you've been doing this kind of stuff for years now.

Fenton: 6:01

Um, I mean, they're really supportive. Um, my dad hauls me to the metal recycler. Even though, I don't think he likes it. He hauls me there. It's a little creepy. And they've just supported me like they care about, they care about it. They care about my passion.

Katie Kurpanek: 6:22

That's so cool. Do you feel like your friends care about this at all because they see that you care about it?

Fenton: 6:28

um, I'd say, yeah, yeah, um. I mean, I try to introduce Or no? them. I don't think they're, I mean, they're having fun, like some my friends go collect cans with me and crush them. And I think they like crushing cans. And I tried to introduce them to follow the garbage men with me all around my neighborhood, but I don't think they like that. They like the metal can stuff.

Katie Kurpanek: 7:10

Yeah, that makes sense, and that's pretty cool, because, like, not everybody needs to like the same stuff, but it is fun when we can show people that like, doing something that's more sustainable or eco friendly has a lot of fun benefits to it. So that's pretty cool that they get to see that. Yeah. I mean, you know a lot about, like, trash and recycling and composting. Is there anything about that that you want to share with our listeners?

Fenton: 7:41

I've, I've tried-- This sounds pretty silly, but I've tried composting in my backyard and it didn't turn out well. So now I'm trying to find a solution, how to compost. And I just know about a lot about how to recycle. Like a lot of people recycle plastic bags, but they're not supposed to.

Katie Kurpanek: 8:04

Yeah, I know, I'm surprised sometimes by how many times that happens. And like, plastic bags are really bad for those machines that end up, like, sorting through all of the recycling. So I'm glad that you know that. But yeah, okay, so your your kind of next project is like, you're gonna learn more about composting, it sounds like?

Fenton: 8:26

yeah, yeah,

Katie Kurpanek: 8:28

that's awesome. I remember seeing the tumbler that you had in your backyard, and then we had gone and looked at the recycle- or the composting bin that was in my yard. So it's been pretty fun to talk to you about different ideas. If you could tell the families listening, and if there's other kids that are listening and inspired by you, Fenton, if you could tell them anything that you think that they should know about the waste management system, what would you tell them?

Fenton: 8:55

It's a big operation. You don't just, a lot of people throw it in the trash can and never care about it again. It doesn't disappear. It goes, it biodegrades, but it doesn't, it creates harmful emissions in our air, and the more trash we make, the more emissions in the air.

Katie Kurpanek: 9:18

Mm, hmm. So it has a really big impact on like the earth and climate change. Is that what you're talking about?

Fenton: 9:25

Yes

Katie Kurpanek: 9:26

yeah. And when people throw something away, I don't even like that phrase, because it makes us think that if we throw something away, it's just gone, right? But it sounds like you're saying it's not just away, like it didn't disappear. It goes somewhere, right?

Fenton: 9:41

Yes!

Katie Kurpanek: 9:42

yeah. Have you ever been to like a really giant dump, like a landfill?

Fenton: 9:48

With my grandpa in Tucson, Arizona, I went to the landfill with him. Yes.

Katie Kurpanek: 9:56

What did you think of that?

Fenton: 9:58

It was awesome. Like they got the huge bulldozer over and the spikes on the wheels. It's almost as big as my foot.

Katie Kurpanek: 10:15

Oh my goodness,

Fenton: 10:16

when it drives into the ground.

Katie Kurpanek: 10:19

that's so, so cool. I love that. I feel like it would be important for everybody to go see a landfill at some point, just if they've never done it. I feel like it's really eye opening. And there's a lot of cool stuff you could learn.

Fenton: 10:31

Yeah, um, it's a, it was a huge landfill. They said it has about, um, 100 years of life, if we keep up this amount of garbage, but if we make more, that means we have, that landfill lasts less time. But if we make a change that could, maybe the landfill can last more time.

Katie Kurpanek: 11:05

Oh, that's a really good point. I hadn't thought about that very much. Is there, Did that inspire you to do anything at your home? Like, are you trying to make any changes so that you and your family produce less waste?

Fenton: 11:20

Um, yes, I think, um, my mom's got, like, passionate about, um, not buying wasteful stuff. Um, for example, she had a party, and she was thinking of buying these beads, but then they had a big impact on the environment, so that shows me, she cares about the environment, and I and I honestly try to waste less too.

Katie Kurpanek: 11:50

Wow. Fenton that's amazing. You guys are learning so much from each other as a family, and that, like fills my whole heart. I think that's amazing. You are such a joy to talk to. I'm so happy that I know you, Fenton, and I know that my almost four year old son really loves you and is learning from you all the time, like you have already inspired him to start collecting cans, and he's always so excited to like, go to your house and help you crush them. So I'm excited just to see who else you inspire in life and where you go from here. Do you have any idea of like, what you want to be or do when you grow up?

Fenton: 12:30

So my idea is, um, you need experience. So maybe be a trash man, the one that collects the trash at you home for experience, but then I want to go on to managing.

Katie Kurpanek: 12:49

That's awesome. That's so cool. Fenton, I think it's amazing that you have big dreams like that for one day, and you're not waiting till you're a grown up to do really important things, like you're already making such a difference in the neighborhood. So I'm proud of you. I'm thankful to know you, and thank you for being on the show. And to anybody listening, if you feel like Fenton's story is so inspiring, could you take a minute to just text this episode right now to somebody that you know, maybe with another eco minded kid, or just a family that might be inspired? Just send this episode to one person, and let's see how many people we can reach and inspire. If you would also like to submit a story that you want to share on the show with your own eco minded kid, then click the link in the description, it'll be linked below, and you can fill out the form, and then I will get back to you. But thanks for listening, and we'll be back with another episode soon. Thank you, Fenton for being here!

Fenton: 13:52

Thank you!

Katie Kurpanek: 13:53

Bye!

Fenton: 13:54

Bye!